Cancer Friends
by BobWhite
Summary: Pony has cancer. But a new friend may show him that he isn't alone in his fight for life. Full summary inside. Pls R&R 2 find out more. Got the title from 'Chasing Life'
1. Unwanted Disturbing News

**Full Summary:**

When Ponyboy gets sick, his fever spikes to 104.5 and his brothers rush him to the hospital. But nobody is ready for the news that the doctors give to the young Curtis family. What happens when Pony meets someone just like him? Will she show him that there is always a way to find happiness? Will he show her what it feels like to have family around? And how does a holiday excursion out of the hospital become something more for the two friends?

 **Unwanted Disturbing News:**

Pony had been sick for nearly the whole weekend. Darry called in sick to work on Monday while Soda went to work, though he didn't want to. Darry also called the school to let them know that Pony wouldn't be attending school on Monday and probably not Tuesday as well seeing as he had the flu. The school understood and said that Pony's school work would be sent home with Two-Bit. Darry thanked them and then hung up the phone. Pony was asleep on the couch, a trash bin next to his head just in case he needed to throw up. Darry went into the kitchen to make some breakfast for himself as well as Pony, though Pony could only keep down chicken broth at the moment.

It wasn't unusual for Pony to get sick. Since losing Johnny and then Dally over eight months ago, Pony had been sick a lot, though the kid sometimes faked sick so he didn't have to go to school. Cherry did her best to keep the other kids from picking on Pony and Randy helped as well. No one wanted a repeat of what had happened to Bob. The Socs and Greasers were doing their best to get along; it was hard though when new kids who didn't know what had happened started to pick on Pony and the rest of the Greasers. The new kids were put in their place real quick by both Socs and Greasers. And then the new kids would always learn what had happened and shut up almost within the same week of starting school. But Pony still got sick more often than not and nobody seemed to understand why he was getting sick so frequently.

So when Pony got sick this time, Steve figured it was to get attention yet again. He told Soda that he believed Pony to be faking his sickness but Soda just shrugged that statement off. Typical Steve to think Pony was faking; he never believed it when Pony was sick. So, Soda took one last look at his younger brother and walked out the door with Steve behind him and they headed to work. Two-Bit offered them a ride and asked about Ponyboy. Soda told him that the fever had spiked but it was still within normal range. Darry would take him to the hospital if it got any higher and would call the DX as well.

As Darry watched Soda and the rest of the gang leave the house for work and school, he wondered just why Ponyboy was getting sick so frequently. They didn't have the money to keep going to the hospital every time Pony got sick. So when the flu hit, Darry had made sure to give Pony enough liquids to keep him out of the hospital. But it wasn't doing any good. Pony's fever was still high and he wondered why it wasn't going down this time. He moved back into the kitchen and was pouring pony a cup of broth when he heard his little brother getting sick. He went into the living room and over to the coffee table. He set the broth down and soothed Pony as much as he could. When Pony was done, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and nearly passed out when he saw blood. He looked at Darry and then both brothers looked into the trash bin.

Pony hadn't puked up the broth Darry kept shoving down his throat. He had puked up blood, and a lot of it. The cup of broth was forgotten about as Darry picked Pony up in the blanket that was wrapped around his legs, grabbed his keys and headed out the door. He put Pony in the passenger seat and then got in, heading for the hospital. Pony needed to see a doctor and immediately. He would call Soda from the hospital, once he knew Pony was going to be okay. For now, he kept looking over at Pony, who had thankfully fallen into a fitful sleep.

Once at the hospital, Darry parked the truck, picked his little brother up and headed into the ER. He rushed to the nurse's desk and asked for help. He was handed a clipboard with some paperwork on it and told to fill it out. He put Pony in some chairs and set to filling out the paperwork. When he was done filling them out, he went back to the nurse's desk and handed them over. She looked them over and was concerned when she read that the 'patient' had been vomiting blood. She let Darry know that a doctor would be right out to see them.

Darry waited about ten minutes before a doctor and some nurses came out with a gurney. The doctor allowed Darry to place Pony on the gurney before moving to the back. He was asked to wait in the waiting room while they assessed his little brother. And while he waited, he put a call into the DX and got ahold of Soda, who was immediately off the phone and getting a ride to the hospital. Steve couldn't stay since he had to get back to work, but he told Soda that he would send Two-Bit over as soon as he got out of school. Two-Bit was due to pick up Soda and Steve after school anyways.

When Soda walked into the waiting room, he immediately saw Darry sitting in one of the chairs facing the ER. Darry was staring intently at the door as if wishing for it to open and have Pony's doctor walk out. Soda went and sat next to him, putting his hand on Darry's back as if in comfort. Darry looked over and nodded his head, he saw Soda but he refused to budge from the spot he'd been in since calling the DX. He continued to look at the door to the ER, where family was not allowed until a doctor came out to speak with them. People went in and out those double doors for nearly an hour before anyone came out to speak with Darry and Soda about Pony. And then when they did come out, the look on their face told the brothers that something was definitely wrong with their baby brother.

As the doctor stopped in front of Darry, the oldest Curtis stood from his seat and looked at the doctor for the longest time before Soda broke the silence and asked how Ponyboy was doing. The doctor said that Pony was resting in his own room, but that a specialist was being brought over from the Children's Hospital. Some abnormalities had been found in Pony's blood and it needed a doctor that could read the abnormalities to look at the findings. For now, Pony was resting and his fever had come down with some fluids. The brothers were allowed in to see Pony, who had an oxygen mask over his face to help him breathe and give him some much needed oxygen, which according to the doctor was something Ponyboy needed as he had been having a hard time breathing without help from the mask. The doctor said he would bring the specialist in after he'd had time to look at Pony's tests.

Darry and Soda sat on opposite sides of Pony, with Soda grabbing Pony's hand in the process to let him know that they were there with him and that he wasn't alone. Pony stirred a little but didn't open his eyes. The nurse that came in said that the doctor had him on some pretty heavy sedatives so that he wouldn't move too much and that he could recuperate from the fever. The brothers had been sitting by Pony's side for nearly four hours when his doctor came in with another doctor. By this time, Pony's fever had gone back down to normal and the doctor was confident enough to take him off of the sedatives.

The doctor called in a nurse and she helped ween Pony off the sedatives. According to his doctor, Pony needed to be awake for the information that was about to be given. The specialist left the room for a little bit while Pony came off of the sedatives. His first question was that he wanted to know why he wasn't on the couch at home and why he was instead in the hospital. This brought a light chuckle from Darry and Soda. Darry explained what had happened and then looked at the doctor who had signaled the specialist to come back into the room.

When the specialist was standing at the end of Pony's bed with the doctor that had treated him, he began to speak. Abnormalities had been found in Pony's blood tests that needed a special doctor to take a look. Abnormalities that shouldn't be found in a healthy person's blood test. The specialist then asked if Pony had been sick more frequently than other kids he went to school with and the answer was a resounded yes from all three brothers. The specialist nodded his head and proceeded to tell the three brothers why that was. Pony got lost half way through and was about to ask a question when he heard the word: CANCER. It hit like a ton of bricks. Like everything that he had gone through in the last eight months to get back to a life of normalcy just went out the window and nothing would ever be the same again.

The Curtis brothers were stunned. They just believed Pony had the flu, not this. The specialist was still speaking. He was saying that he wanted to transfer Ponyboy to the Children's Hospital, some twenty miles away. St. Jude had a surprising number of wins with cancer lately and it would help Pony to be near so many doctors that could treat him. Darry spoke up then. He asked about the money and that neither he nor Soda had much insurance to keep Pony at the Children's Hospital for long. The specialist said that the Children's Hospital had just received a large donation and that at the moment; the cancer ward was very sparse as there weren't many patients that were staying in the hospital. Most of the kids had been sent home and would be seen in the outpatient clinics set up for them. Pony's care was completely covered by the donation.

Again all 3 brothers looked at each other. Pony was on the verge of tears but he would not cry. The specialist wanted to move Ponyboy over to the Children's Hospital immediately to assess his treatment plan and to get him started on Chemotherapy as soon as possible. They would also learn how advanced Pony's cancer was and if it was treatable at all. The Curtis brother's prayed that Pony's cancer was treatable and Darry agreed to the transfer. The specialist gave Darry a list of items that could be brought so Pony would stay as sane as possible. He also suggested that any school work be faxed to the hospital so that Pony would still be able to keep up in school. He mentioned that tutors do sometimes show up at the Ward to help with whatever a kid still in school might need.

With that, the doctors left Pony's room to let the information set a little more. It was then that Pony broke down crying. Soda climbed onto the bed and held his little brother, rubbing his back. Darry would have also done so if Steve and Two-Bit hadn't walked in the door at the same moment. Two-Bit asked how Pony was and the two Greasers got a sore surprise. Pony was actually crying and Soda and Darry looked like they had just had all the blood drawn out of their bodies. Steve asked what they missed and Darry took the two Greasers out into the hall and told them what had just been discussed. Darry sent Steve and Two-Bit to the Curtis house with a list of items that they were to grab.

Books for Pony, all the school books as well; clothes for Darry and Soda, some sweatpants for Pony as he would be wearing a hospital gown most of the time; some writing material that might be good for Pony. There wasn't much that could be brought in, but at least they were trying to keep it as normal as possible for the young Greaser. Steve and Two-Bit nodded their heads and left the hospital. Soda and Darry would follow the ambulance to the Children's Hospital and wait while Pony got settled into his room. They knew that they wouldn't be able to make the journey out to see Pony every day but hoped he would be okay if they just came on the weekends when neither worked. They knew that he would miss them, but they hoped that he would find a friend in the hospital that would help him through it.

How does Pony cope with the news when he is finally left alone in his new room at Children's Hospital? How does Pony cope with not being able to see his brothers until the weekend? And who is the girl that seems to keep passing by his room?

 _ **More to come in next chapter…**_

 _ **Please**_ _ **Review**_ _ **…**_


	2. The Hospital

**The Hospital:**

 **Pony's Room:**

Darry and Soda got to the Children's Hospital only ten minutes after Pony was settled into his room. They had met Steve and Two-Bit in the parking lot of the hospital and collected the belongings that they had asked for. Two-Bit had grabbed a duffel bag and packed all of Pony's books into the bag as well as all of his school books. Steve had grabbed all the clothes and put it into one duffel bag figuring the brothers could figure out what Pony would use at the hospital. He'd also grabbed Pony's brush and toothbrush & toothpaste. He figured the kid would want to stay as hygienic as possible. He knew now that the kid hadn't been faking it this time.

Cancer. That word shook every person who heard it to the core, whether you had it or not. That word was the worst and if it was spoken towards a kid, well there really wasn't a cure at the moment for most forms of cancer. He prayed the kid would live and that the form of cancer he had was curable. He also hoped that the bills from his stay wouldn't kill Darry and Soda. This wasn't fair. After all Pony had been through in the last eight months, the kid deserved a break; hell if he didn't then who did. Steve and Two-Bit had headed back to their respective homes after making Darry promise to keep them in the loop. Boy would they be kept in the loop.

When Darry and Soda got to Pony's room, he was all settled in. A nurse had given him a book to read and he'd been hooked up to an IV that was administering his meds. They would take him to surgery later after the food that had been his system was out. They needed to insert a port-a-cath, where all the chemo would be administered. And they needed his guardian's permission to perform the surgery. So while Soda and Pony talked in his room, Darry stepped outside to talk to the doctor about the treatment plan. They wanted permission to take Pony into surgery and needed Darry's consent. Darry signed the necessary papers and anything that needed to be signed. He also got the fax number from the nurse so the school could send Pony his school work. He could work on it when he felt up to it and not sick from all the chemo. According to the specialist that had looked at Pony's blood earlier in the day, a tutor showed up to help kids stay caught up in school, even though they practically were living in the hospital.

The nurse said she'd have the tutor make his way to Ponyboy's room so he could have some help with his school work. And since Pony would have a tutor, the tutor could send the completed work back to the school so Darry or Soda didn't have to worry about doing it during the weekend. They were also told that though family was allowed to stay, no visitors were allowed to stay the night. They could visit during the day, but would have to leave at night. And since Pony would be out from his surgery anyways, they would keep the brothers up to date on any outcomes from here on out. Darry nodded. He didn't like the fact that he and Soda weren't allowed to stay the night but he understood why they weren't allowed to. This Ward was for kids with Cancer, relative could visit, but staying the night could hinder the progress the kids made while trying to get better.

Darry went back into the room. Pony looked over at his older brother as Darry sat on the bed and told Pony what was going to be happening for the night. Soda was angry that he wouldn't be able to stay the night at all; stupid rules, didn't they know that his little brother needed him, especially at a time like this. But I guess everyone had to follow the same rules; they couldn't break the rules just because a new patient was admitted to the Ward. They needed to keep everyone on schedule, whether the family liked it or not. And by the look on Pony's face, he didn't like it either. But at least they wouldn't be sticking him with needles every time they needed to administer some medicine. Darry told them that the surgery would be for later on that night and that when Pony woke up, it would be the next morning.

The brothers stayed together until the nurses came to get Pony for his surgery. Then they said goodbye and Darry and Soda watched as Pony was wheeled from the room. They would be back the coming weekend and every weekend that followed for however long Pony was in the hospital. They didn't actually realize that Pony would be in the hospital so long. As soon as they knew that Pony wouldn't be watching them leave, they collected their belongings, leaving the duffel bag of books, school work and clothing on the couch to be put away at Pony's discretion, with the help of a nurse of course.

 **The First Night & Morning:**

When the surgery was over, Pony was wheeled back to his room and settled in for the night. The night nurse checked on him every hour to make sure his vitals were stable and that he was doing alright. He stayed stable throughout the night and in the morning, he was starting to stir. When he was fully awake, he had a new look to him, one centered just below his collar bone on his chest. He didn't like it but at least they wouldn't be poking him with needles every time he needed more chemo. Breakfast was also served around the time he was fully awake. Though he didn't feel much like eating, he did eat a little bit of the eggs. When the nurse came in to help him get to the bathroom, he learned that he wasn't the only patient on the floor. There were three other patients that were on the Ward full time. He hoped they were friendly and knew that if they weren't, he was going to be miserable.

When they got back from the bathroom, he pulled on a pair of sweat pants that had been packed for him. The nurse helped him hang what little clothes he had in the wardrobe. He put his books on the windowsill so that they could stay standing up and put lay his school books next to them so that they wouldn't fall over. Looking out the window at what was supposed to be his life, he signed. He knew that there was a possibility of him being in the hospital for months and all he wanted to do right now was go outside. He wanted to go to school and he didn't care if he got picked on at all. He just wanted his life to get back to some form of normalcy. He knew that that would never happen now. Even if he somehow survived his cancer, he'd have to be in remission for almost five years to be considered cured. He didn't know if that was even possible.

As he grabbed a book to read, the nurse left. Someone had walked by his window and he hadn't been paying attention. All he wanted was his life back. He could hear voices outside of his room but since they weren't directed at him, he didn't pay much attention. He flipped open the book and tried to concentrate on it, though it was starting to get harder since the nausea decided to show up at the same time as well.

 **A Mysterious Girl:**

After he got back from the bathroom, the nurse helped him clean up again. He wanted to ask about the person the nurse had been talking to but didn't want to be rude. He knew that he could be inconsiderate at times and he didn't want to be that way now. They were all here trying to keep him alive and help him beat his cancer, no need to make them angry as well. The nurse left once again saying she'd be back in a few hours with his lunch. He didn't know if he'd even be able to hold the food down but he nodded anyways. Unable to concentrate on the book he was reading, he put it down and looked out his window. He watched the people on the Ward floor pass by, but he didn't look out the window to the outside again. It was too depressing to watch his life go on without him.

He saw her then, the hair was black but she had a smile on her face. She was using an IV pole to walk which told him that she was a patient just like he was. She didn't stop at his room; he figured she was letting him settle in. he also figured she hadn't been told much about the newcomer, though if he thought about it, the girl was probably the one the nurse had been talking to earlier. That would not be the first glimpse that he would get of the girl, but for some reason she always had a different color of hair every time he did see her.

He didn't understand why she kept changing the color of her hair. But at least there was someone on the Ward floor that looked to be around his age. He reminded himself to keep an eye out for her to see which room she was in. But that was for later. For now, he crawled into his bed and focused on the book once more.

 **The First Weekend:**

By the time the weekend came around, Pony was bored. Dead bored out of his mind. He'd ventured down to the play room a few times and found some new books and brought those back. He'd also done a few puzzles, but he couldn't stand to be in the hospital anymore. He was dozing when his brothers walked into the room. They had been warned by the Head Nurse that Pony was in a mood. They understood that to mean that he wasn't in a mood to see them, but they walked in anyways. Two-Bit and Steve were there as well. The school had been told what was going on and agreed to send along as much schoolwork as possible and understood if the schoolwork was turned in late. Darry had gone to the principal and handed over the hospital fax number so that schoolwork could be sent directly to the hospital so no one had to make an extra trip. The principal had said that that was fine as long as Darry collected whatever schoolwork Pony had done over the weekend and brought it in on Monday morning before work.

Darry was now working full time. They needed the extra money to keep up with what Ponyboy might need at the hospital. So when they walked in to see Pony dozing, they knew that he was bored out of his mind. He was always either reading a book or writing something. They could tell by the way he was lying that he didn't want to be bothered. They could also tell by the color of his skin that he had probably been sick that morning and probably would continue to be sick throughout the weekend. But that was a good thing. It meant the chemo was working, even if they were side effects.

Soda touched Pony's shoulder and he turned towards them, looking at Soda with a smile.

"Hey Pone, how are you feeling?" _Soda asked._

"Bored out of my mind. Did you bring anything for me to do?"

"What about all of your books?" _Two-Bit asked._

"I read them already and reread them. I played puzzles, did some writing and listened to some music. There is literally nothing to do here."

"Maybe it might be a good idea for you to make some friends here. These people don't judge on looks Pone. They pretty much judge on attitudes though, so try not to be so rough with the others on the floor." _Darry said._

"There is literally nobody here my age. They are all younger or older than me."

"Hell, kid, were older than you but you still hang out with us." _Steve said._

"You guys are family. These people are not."

"Just try to make some friends Pone, alright. I guarantee you will feel a whole lot better if you do. Don't get too depressed while you're here okay? We're going to want our baby brother happy to see us."

"Alright Dar."

The rest of the visit went by faster than the brothers would have liked and their friends could tell that by the end of the visit, Pony was starting to drift to sleep again. He'd promised to try to make friends but he hadn't told them about the mysterious girl he'd seen the past week. He wanted to do some investigating himself before mentioning her. After his family left, Pony rolled over and looked out the window trying to get a glimpse of the mysterious girl. He wasn't able to get a good glimpse as the glare from the sun was directly on his window. He decided that he'd better try to get some sleep. There was nothing else to do anyways.

 **A New Friend:**

The next morning, Pony was awoken by music. But it wasn't normal music. This music sounded like it was coming from a musical instrument, like someone was playing it nearby. He rolled over and looked out the window but couldn't tell who was actually playing the instrument; which meant he would actually have to leave his room to investigate the source of the music. He pushed himself up and got out of bed. He grabbed his portable IV and headed out of his room. The nurse nodded her head and he continued to follow the music. Whoever was playing the instrument sounded really good.

When he came upon the room in which the music was coming from, he stopped. The door was open and a young girl was sitting in a chair in the room. She looked to be about his age, but she had no hair. He immediately understood her to be a patient on the Ward. She was good and she had a smile on her face that said she was enjoying herself. The nurse scooted around him and motioned for him to go inside, that the girl wouldn't mind. Pony pushed his IV in front of him and entered the room. The girl continued playing her instrument, which Pony had yet to figure out what it actually was. It was small but it definitely wasn't a guitar that was for sure. The girl was playing it on her shoulder like she was sawing at it.

Pony waited until the girl was done playing whatever song she was playing before trying to introduce himself.

"Hi, my name is…"

"Pony, yeah I know. I overheard you talking with your brothers yesterday. You sure do have a lot of brothers. I wish I had siblings."

"Oh, well actually I only have two brothers. The other two are really good friends. What's your name?"

"My name is Zianzia, but everyone around here calls me Zizi. So, if you only have two brothers, why did the other boys show up as well? Seems kind of redundant to me. Having everything you can no longer enjoy thrown in your face."

"Two-Bit and Steve brought me my schoolwork for the week until the school gets the time to fax me all my assignments. I have till next weekend to get them finished and back to my older brother Darry."

"Oh, well that's nice of them. I'm home-schooled, well hospital-schooled."

"How long have you been here? I mean when were you first admitted?"

"About two years ago, if I remember correctly. Shortly after I was diagnosed, my parents had me checked in and then they checked out, literally. Mom married rich so dad took her away. I've been in the System since, even though my grandparents are trying to get custody of me. My caseworker believes that I'll be safer at the hospital where I can get my treatments than out on a Ranch where the nearest hospital is fifty miles away. The judge hasn't decided if I'll be allowed to live with my grandparents yet, but I hope I will be able to. Living in a hospital sucks, but I could probably show you all the cool things that the nurses don't want you to find."

"Oh, like what?"

"Well, there is a secret room in the library. A certain book opens the room and there is even a fireplace in there. All the books you can find in the library are also in the secret room. But only long timers like me know how to get into the room. The nurses don't mind since I'm not on any restrictions. Once your chemo kicks in, you'll be restricted to certain foods for your diet."

"Anything else I should know? I've only been here a week and I feel like I haven't learned anything."

"Did your doctor tell you about infertility?"

"No, what's that?"

"Well, basically, all the chemicals they are pumping into our systems to make us healthy again, make us infertile. It basically means that you will never be able to have kids the normal way. You might have to adopt or something like that, but you will never have any biological children of your own. Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you."

"It's okay, I can handle it, I think. Continue please. I want to know all that I can so I'll be prepared."

"You are going to lose your hair, that's the main thing. Everyone who's ever been on chemo always loses their hair. I can shave your head for you if you want so you don't wake up one morning and find hair on your pillow. It's easier anyways. To get rid of it immediately so you won't have to deal with it later."

"Sounds like a good proposition. So can I ask you something?"

"Sure, ask me anything."

"Who's the mysterious girl that walks the hall? She's always got different colored hair and I can't understand why."

 _Zizi laughed and stood up. She used her IV pole as a crutch and went over to the trunk that was next to her wardrobe._ "Why don't you come take a look for yourself?"

 _Pony walked over to the trunk as Zizi opened it and his mouth fell open._ "The mysterious girl is you! Why do you have so many different colors?"

"My grandparents bought me the wigs so that I could feel like my old self. With the violin, I'm at least able to get back to a form of normalcy. I was on the fast track to becoming a performing violinist when I was first diagnosed. The violin is my key to another time and place. It lets me drift to different worlds and then when I'm done playing, I write about those worlds that I've drifted to. I know, it sounds weird but I like being weird, it's who I am. Do you want one of my wigs after I shave your head? We could cut it to your length and you can use it whenever."

"What one do you not like the most?"

"It doesn't work that way. What's your favorite color?"

"Orange and pink, like a sunset."

"I have just the wig for you." _Zizi scrimmaged around the trunk before pulling out a wig that reminded Pony of the sunset that he and Johnny had seen while still up in Windrixville._ "This will suit you just fine. Come one, let's go see if Erica is on yet. She's the only nurse I really like. The others are only really nice to the younger kids. Oh, by the way, I'm fifteen. How old are you?"

"I just turned fourteen about three months ago."

"Well, at least we are in the same age range. I never thought I'd make a friend my age in this place. Come on, Erica will be able to cut this to your exact hair length. And then we'll shave your head and you can wear the wig, though it might be itchy at first for you; most wigs are."

How will Darry and Soda react to seeing Pony's shaved head? And how will they react when he puts the modified wig on? How do Darry and Soda react when they meet Zizi?

 _ **More to come in next chapter…**_

 _ **Please**_ _ **Review**_ _ **…**_

 **AN: I've been listening to Lindsey Stirling a lot lately and have decided to make my character, Pony's friend, a violinist. Hope you like.**


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